Back to Normal

I hate to say it, but I think I’ve started to out-grow Six Flags. It’s incredibly depressing to come to the realization that something that used to bring you unconditional joy and happiness now has little effect on you. I mean, it happens all the time as a kid; toys fade in and out of popularity. Every week I had a new favorite movie as a child. Somehow, it feels different now. I guess I thought that I was relatively grown up when amusement parks and roller coasters used to really turn my crank. It’s depressing to know that I’m so little like the person that I was not so long ago.

Or is it not? Maybe it’s a good thing that I’ve find other passions. I guess that’s the real crux of the matter: have I replaced the old toys that I don’t like to play with anymore, or is there simply a big hole in my happiness quotient?

Or, just as likely, I was just still not feeling 100% since things with Annie were on the fringe. Maybe Six Flags is still awesome any other day…

Anyways, so that was most of my Tuesday. Yesterday was actually a pretty big day, centering mostly around my run. I had planned to do my longest run of the summer (a WHOPPING 8 miles…) and I had mapped out a really nice route. Starting at 9-acre-corner, I ran what began as part of my normal bike loop. I set out at about 1:00pm, which was probably not too wise because there was very little shade and it was quite hot. The first two miles go relatively flat down Concord Road through the Nashawtuc Country Club. It’s an easy start, but I actually ran it pretty poorly, strategically, by going out too fast. I aimed to run around 7:00 pace, and ran the first two miles in 13:20, so I was a little worried that I would hurt later on. After bearing left at pantry road, Concord Rd. takes a relatively steep uphill for about a mile. I began to struggle a bit, but was able to make it to the turn onto Morse Road.

This is one of my favorite parts of this loop. Whenever I’m on my bike, the most tiring parts of my rides are the uphills. To try and distract myself, I try and think of clever little names for each hill while I’m riding up them. The section of the loop starting at Morse Road I call “The Back Hills” (an inside joke for anyone who has run Van Cortland Park). I was feeling a little better once I turned onto Morse but immediately started to ache as I approached the first of the Back Hills: Horse Shit Hill. Horse Shit Hill is a very steep hill which also happens to be next to a farm (hence the name). Runners or bikers are treated to the delightful aroma as they run/ride past. On this specific run, I had the dual joy of also being treated to air filled with grass pollen and dust as the grounds crew was out in full force on their John Deer’s.

After HSH, there’s a long, gradual descent. I was able to cruise pretty comfortably for a few minutes and regain some strength; also, shade was an added bonus. Then, yet another hill, nearly as long as the first before turning onto Marlboro Road. Marlboro brings you back to Haynes which brings you to Pantry, where you are faced with the biggest hill yet. Unfortunately, I don’t have a clever name and usually just call it Pantry Hill… Sorry.

Finally, I turned right at the top of Pantry at 117 and headed back towards 9-acre-corner. I had never actually run or biked on this section of road (I usually extend the loop in the other direction), so I didn’t really no what to expect. It turned out to be a little trafficy, but actually quite pretty. There was very little shade, though, so I was really struggling by the end.

Overall, I ended up doing okay. It was a little depressing to know that my recovery runs were this long 8 months ago, but eh. I think my pace averaged out to around 6:55 with a pretty quick last mile. I’m not too disappointed with that given the hills.

The rest of the day was spent making great progress on my packing pile. Up until now, packing had simply been a theological endeavor. However, with the realization that I had all of three or four days left, it was time to get down to business. Now, most of my belongings are strewn about on my brother’s floor and bed. Oh goodness.

Annie’s off on her rock climbing orientation trip, which means I can’t talk to her for a few days. Bummer. If all goes well I might head out to Amherst this weekend before I leave. We shall see.

Today has been relatively uneventful. I went to Skid School this morning, which is a driving course that teaches you all the important stuff that they don’t teach you in drivers ed (how to handle a skidding car correctly, braking and swerving, etc.). It was all right, but I was pretty pissed off at having to get up at 6:00 to get to Andover. Oh well.

The rest of the day, I did some core (no run today), upper body, and went and had a nice chat with Liz Bedell. I ran some errands and now I’m about to eat dinner. I think a party is on the menu for tonight. I’m not sure if it will be an overnight or not, depends how tired I am and how the night unfolds. I also am still thinking about doing a time trial this weekend, so I don’t want to be too, too sleep deprived. I’ll let you know how it goes.